OK, so I know that making tortillas at home probably seems totally over the top and crazy to some people. They are so easy to buy at the store and usually used for quick and easy dinners, why would you increase the difficulty?? And at one point in my life I totally would have agreed with you. But, not anymore! First of all, they are not NEARLY as difficult as I thought they would be. I was so surprised the first time I made them. My food processor did most of the hard work for me. Second, the taste and the texture. Seriously, no comparison. I don’t think I can even accurately describe how much better than store bought tortillas. Third, you can freeze them! If you have a weekend with just a few extra minutes then you can make a nice big batch and place them in a freezer. Then they are still grab and go for a quick and easy weeknight dinner.

I first made these tortillas about a year ago when we were living in China (actually, a few of the process pictures are from China!). I was really pushed to make them because, like many things at the import food store, the bag of tortillas I saw every week on the shelf never seemed to move and was probably months old. And I had a craving for burritos! Now I make them because I love them. Over the past year I’ve become more and more comfortable with the process. Here are a few things I’ve learned along the way:

I’ve tried all butter, all Crisco, a combination of the two, and a combination of butter and oil. Hands down the combination of half butter half Crisco is my favorite. In my opinion, it yields the best texture and taste.

A lot of recipes say to roll out all of the tortillas and then cook all of the tortillas. I find that I have the best flow when I roll a tortilla and then cook it, and while it is cooking I start to roll the next one. I use the counter space right next to my stove so I am able to roll and keep an eye on the tortilla at the same time. Of course you’ll just have to see which flow works better for you.

It’s important to have enough flour to keep the tortillas from sticking (and this helps them keep a better shape, too!) but careful not to use too much, because the raw flour will start to scorch in the pan.

If you think you’ve rolled them thin enough, roll them just a little thinner. You’ll be surprised how much the plump up.

I have also successfully used half all-purpose and half whole-wheat flour (as you can tell in a few of the process pictures)

Directions
In the bowl of a food processor*, quickly process the flour, baking powder and salt to combine. Add the shortening and butter and process in 3-5 second increments until the dough is evenly crumbly. With the food processor running, stream in the warm water and process until a ball of dough forms. Dump out the ball of dough onto a lightly floured surface and lightly knead to form a solid ball. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 10 minutes.

After resting, divide the ball of dough into 12 pieces and shape into balls and cover with a clean towel. Now you have two options.

Option one, roll all of the dough balls into very, very thin rounds, keeping a sheet of paper towel or parchment paper between each one to prevent sticking. Heat a heavy bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Place each round, one at a time, in the skillet. Cook for about 20-30 seconds or until large bubbles start to form. Flip and cook for an equal amount of time on the second side. Remove from heat, place on a plate, and cover with a clean towel until ready to eat.

Option two, heat a heavy bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. While the skillet is heating, roll the first ball of dough into a very, very thing round. Place the thin round in the skillet and cook for about 20-30 seconds, or until big bubbles start to form. Once bubbles have formed, flip and cook for an equal amount of time on the other side. While that round is cooking, start rolling out the second ball dough. As each tortilla is done place on a plate and a cover with a clean towel until ready to use. Repeat the process until you use each of the dough balls.

To freeze: Tightly wrap a stack of tortillas with saran wrap. Place the stack inside of gallon freezer bag. When you’re ready to use, remove from freezer and unwrap. Cover with a damp clean kitchen towel and microwave for about 30 seconds (or more) to thaw.

*It is possible to make the dough with out a food processor, I have just never done it myself so I don’t have many tips!

This is another photo taken while we were living in China. But, don’t let that fool you into thinking these biscuits aren’t important. For one reason or another the photos were buried in my computer but I never stopped making this recipe. We have these several times a month, in fact we just had them last night! These are my absolute, last minute, what to have with dinner, go-tos.

Of course, I don’t always make the jalapeno variation of this recipe. The versatility of this recipe is one of the things I love. Sometimes I use white cheddar, sometimes I use chives instead of jalapenos, sometimes I skip the chives and jalapenos, I’ve even swapped a quarter cup of flour for corn meal and made a sort of corn biscuit. No matter how I prepare them, these biscuits always turn out flavorful, light, fluffy, and delicious. Oh, and they’re easy!

In a glass mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt, and cayenne pepper. Add the cold butter and use pastry blender or a fork and knife to cut the butter into the flour, until flour and butter make pea size clumps. Mix in the cheddar. Stir in the buttermilk and jalapenos and mix just until incorporated.

Much like last year, I had a good amount of cranberry sauce left over from our Thanksgiving meal. With last year’s leftovers I made a batch of cranberry white chocolate chip muffins that we totally loved. I wanted to make them again this year, but I also couldn’t shake the feeling that I wanted to experiment and try something new. And when it comes to baking experiments in my kitchen it’s go big or go home. I settled on a fun “all day” sort of project, Yeasted Coffee Cake with Cranberry Cream Cheese Filling.

My first attempt was delicious, but….. ugly. I rolled the dough a touch too thin, added a touch too much filling, and chose an odd shape that resulted in a whole lot of spillage. To be honest, I was pretty bummed. I had visions of gorgeous golden brown cake and what I had was a mound – of deliciousness, but still a mound. You know the saying, if at first you don’t succeed…. So I was back in the kitchen on Tuesday. There was still some spillage, but the overall cake was much more aesthetically pleasing.

The only thing not pictured is a simple vanilla glaze. It was an after thought but really added a nice sweetness to the tart cranberries. I’ll include it in the recipe below and let you decide if you want to use it or not.

Oh and one last thing, yes this can be somewhat time consuming, with the multiple risings and steps, but don’t let that scare you! Most of the time is just spent waiting! To me the most challenging part was shaping the dough, but that was also the most fun!

*If your cranberry sauce is extra liquidy, drain of some of the excess liquid using a mesh sieve.

Directions
In the bowl of a standing mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, add the warm water and yeast. Stir to dissolve. Add the sugar, egg, vanilla, and milk and stir with the mixer on low speed. With the mixer still on low speed, add 1 1/2 cups flour and salt and mix for 1 minute. Increase speed to medium-low and add the butter, one piece at a time, until fully incorporated. Change the attachment to the dough hook, taking the time to scrape down the sides of the bowl a little bit. Add the remaining flour and knead on medium-low speed for about 5 minutes. Increase the speed to medium and knead for 2 more minutes.

Using a strong spatula, transfer the dough to a lightly oiled straight sided dish. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and set in a warmish area (an off oven with the light turned on is a great place) to rise until doubled in size, about 3 hours. Press down the down and transfer to a lightly oiled baking sheet, spreading so the dough is about 1 inch thick. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, about 2 hours. (Can also be left in the original dish and chilled for 4-24 hours in the fridge)

While the dough is chilling, make cranberry sauce (if not using left overs) and cream cheese filling. To make the cream cheese filling, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, flour, and salt, until smooth. Add the egg, zest, and vanilla and beat until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Chill thoroughly before using.

Remove the dough from the fridge and place on a lightly floured surface. Pat into a rough rectangle then roll with a rolling pin into a 15 by 9 inch rectangle, about 1/4 inch thick. Use your hands or a dough scraper to straighten the edges of the dough. Spread cranberry sauce over surface of the dough, leaving about at least a 1/2 inch border around the edges. Over top of the cranberry, spread a layer of cream cheese filling.

Use both hands to roll the dough, lengthwise, into a log. Transfer the log to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, or a silpat, and use your hands to carefully shape the log into a U shape. Using clean kitchen scissors, cut 2/3 of the way into the dough along the outside of the U shape (about 2 inches apart). Carefully lift and slightly separate the sections so they are just slightly fanned (this is where some of my cranberry sauce started to leak out – I was worried but it was fine). Cover with plastic wrap and allow to proof for about 1 1/2 – 2 hours, or until slightly puffed.*

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush dough with egg wash. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is a nice golden brown. If it seems to be browning too much too fast, cover with foil halfway through baking. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

For the glaze, simply use a fork to mix together the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla. Drizzle over the top of the cake before serving.

*After proofing, the cake can be kept in the fridge overnight to be baked in the morning.

2 people, 2 cats, 1 car, 2,000 miles. To say that I am exhausted would be an understatement. But the good news is that we made it (drove from OH to CA)! The cats were unbelievably good in the car, in fact, they probably did better than I did! Now I’ll be spending the next week or so cleaning, moving, organizing, and searching for the lost pieces of my mind. Ha! In the meantime, I have another fabulous blogging friend helping me out with a guest post today! I first met Krystal “in real life” at last years Foodbuzz festival and she has quickly become one of my favorite people (and a fellow SoCal girl!). Besides being sweet, fun, and adorable, she’s also a fabulous blogger and mommy. Check out her delicious posts such as S’mores Whoppie Pies, Carrot Cake Cheesecake, and Migas Casserole – bonus, adorable pictures of her baby at the bottom of each post! Thank you so much for helping me out, Krystal!

Hi-ya Sunny Side readers!

My name is Krystal from Mrs. Regueiro’s Plate, and I’m so happy to be able to guest post today on Sunny Side Up. I have been following Jessica’s blog for quite sometime, and she’s such a sweetheart to call a friend, too. We actually met in real life last year at the Foodbuzz Conference and hit it off like old friends. She’s the perfect person to have around when you want to split a peanut butter sundae or share some scrumptious lobster tacos. I can’t wait until she returns back home to sunny SoCal and we can meet up again and foodie patrol the streets.

Since you may not know me – a few things…I am a stay at home mama to an almost 6 month-old Elena, who takes up ALL of my time, but she’s the sunshine of my life. Whenever I manage to spare some free time, I enjoy cooking and baking, sewing, crafting, gardening and watching movies/tv shows off on Netflix. Since my free time has been cut significantly, I have accepted to make some shortcuts, make adjustments, and accept that all meals don’t always have to be gourmet or perfect. Getting a meal on the table for dinner is successful enough for me and spending quality time with my little sweet cookie and husband are the best things in life.

I wanted to share my new favorite recipe for Pumpkin bread. I absolutely love everything about Fall, the change in colder weather (when it eventually happens in SoCal since we’re still experiencing 90 degree temp. days), all of the delicious holiday foods, the sweater and scarf combo wearing days, and everything pumpkin foodie related. My go-to recipe was the Starbucks Pumpkin Bread because it was utterly drool-worthy but this new recipe makes for one really good pumpkin bread. It’s absolutely creamy and the pumpkin flavor is really rich and balanced. I like that the cream cheese is melted into the batter giving this extra buttery note to the bread. The sweet streusel topping and crunchy pepitas give that extra contrast and crunch to the pumpkin bread, too

It’s a classic pumpkin bread taken up a notch! Thanks for letting me guest post Jessica!

For the topping: In a small bowl, mix together the ingredients using your fingers until well combined and resembles coarse sand. Set aside.

For the bread: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat two 9×5 loaf pans with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda until combined.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the pumpkin puree, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Cook mixture, stirring constantly, until reduced to 1 1/2 cups, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat and stir in the granulated sugar, brown sugar, vegetable oil and cream cheese until combined. Let mixture stand for 5 minutes. Whisk until no visible pieces of cream cheese remain and mixture is homogeneous.

In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and buttermilk. Add egg mixture to pumpkin mixture and whisk to combine. Fold flour mixture into pumpkin mixture until combined (small lumps of flour are ok). Fold walnuts into batter. Scrape batter into prepared pans. Sprinkle topping evenly over the top of each loaf.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until skewer inserted in center comes out clean. Let breads cool in pans for at least 20 minutes. Remove from pans and transfer to cooling rack. Let cool for at least 1 1/2 hours. Serve warm or room temperature.

Yield: 2 loaves

Review: Absolutely smack-tastic. You get two loaves from the recipe, so you might want to share with fellow pumpkin aficionados. Or you can opt to use smaller bread pans to make more loaves and freeze them if desired.

Hi! I’m Jessica. I love cooking, baking, eating, and talking about food. My goal is to make cooking and baking, even from scratch, seem approachable. If I can give just one person the boost they need to try something new in the kitchen, I’ll be happy.